1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a dispensing or vending device, particularly for individual vending of flat paper articles horizontally arranged to form a stack.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Vending machines of varying construction have been described for dispensing, vending, or issuing flat paper articles, such as newspapers or magazines.
Exemplary of prior art vending machines where a pin engages and removes the top article from a stack, and the pin slides the top article to an exit slot when moved in the direction of the slot are U.S. Pat. No. 3,463,356, issued Aug. 26, 1969, to Gatti; U.S. Pat. No. 3,934,754, issued Jan. 27, 1976, to Dutro; U.S. Pat. No. 3,063,597, issued Nov. 13, 1962, to Burdis et al; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,854,168, issued Sept. 30, 1958, to Abrams et al. Each of these four patents shows use of one or a plurality of such pins, with the pins being moved linearly by a mechanism following a fixed track.
Newspaper or magazine vending devices which employ other gripping means, but still disclosing a linear path of travel of the gripping means, are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,917,114, issued Nov. 4, 1975, to Grosse; U.S. Pat. No. 2,819,817, issued Jan. 14, 1958, to MacKenzie et al; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,042,250, issued July 3, 1962, to Watlington.
Many of the prior art vending devices suffer from drawbacks resulting from relative complexity of construction and operation, with the result that mechanical failure is common under severe conditions of usage, such as is typically encountered in outdoor locations, where such vending devices are usually located. Another drawback of dispensing devices characterized by complexity of construction is an increased tendency to jam or retain deposited coins without furnishing the desired article. To the extent that such malfunctioning is a significant cause of vandalism directed to newspaper or magazine vending machines, such complexity represents a significant economic loss by owners of such machines for machine maintenance and replacement costs.
Devices for retail selling of a single copy of a newspaper or a magazine typically are constructed to permit access to an entire stack of newspapers or magazines upon insertion of the proper combination of coins. While receipts to the wholesaler should be proportional to the number of items placed in such a device, surveys have shown a shortage of receipts which can be accounted for only by making the assumption that an individual purchaser takes more than one copy of the article. Articles of greater intrinsic value can be expected to present a greater risk of theft, and loss of even less expensive articles is known to represent a significant economic loss to the distributor.
Yet a further drawback of existing vending devices is represented by the need to provide a fixed track for guiding a gripping mechanism which functions at the top of a stack of articles. Such a mechanism must necessarily be independent of the mechanism employed to permit activation of the device when the proper combination of coins have been deposited, thereby introducing an additional element of complexity.